Imitation leather.



W. 0. STODDARD.' In.

IMlTATlON LEATHER.-

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.|3.1911.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

f .as

WILLIAM O. STODDARD, JR., OF MADISON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE DURATEX COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A

CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

IMITATION LEATHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr., 9, 1918.

Application filedV January 13, 1917. serial No. 142,315.

To all whom z't may concern.'

Be it known that I, WiLLIAM 0. STODDARD, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Madison, in the county of Morris and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Imitation Leather, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is the productionl of a material intended more particularly for automobile and other upholstery purposes, carriage and automobile tops, shoes and other uses to which a flexible leather is adapted. It is well-known that many makes of artificial leather, consisting generally of a fabric coated with a nitrocellulose composition, are deficient in durability so far as surface Wear is concerned. This is by reason of the factthat the coating is comparatively soft and when the material is used for upholstering, or for automobile or carriage tops, or for shoes, the wear or friction of ordinary use rubs 0H the surface,

or cuts through the coating, thus exposing Vthe abraded underlying fabric, and rendering the material practically useless in a comparatively short time. When used for automobile or carriage tops this abrasion of the surface of the material is due to the rubbing of one part of the material upon another caused partly by the vibration of the vehicle when in use, and by frequent raising and lowering of the top with the consequent folding of portions thereof. More particularly with regard to a substitute for shoe leather, one of the difliculties heretofore eni countered has been to make a material havmg an appearance of shoe leather and which would stand the continual bending and creasing to which the shoeis subjected in daily wear* without wearing through or breaking the surface offthe material.

I have overcome these defects b the present invention which is illustrate diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing. The present product consists of a fabric base coated with a suitable surface film and having a second fabric embedded in said film,

such second fabric serving the double function of reinforcing the film and preventing any abrasion or rubbing through the surface. In the following description I have given one method of practising my invention, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the described composition for the surface lm. i

Upon any suitable material as a base, such as linen, cotton, drill, moleskin, sateen or other fabric, I spread a composition consistmg essentially of a nitro-cellulose solution and an oil. I prefer a composition consisting of one pound of nitrated cotton and one and one-half pounds of blown castor oil. The nitrated cotton may be dissolved in any suitable solvent such as amylacetate, and the oil added thereto and the mixture thoroughly stirred. This composition may be spread cold upon the base, the latter being mounted upon a suitable frame having rollers around which it is run in the form of, a

be applied by any suitable means as a brush,

or from a nozzle in front of a doctor blade extending the width of the fabric. As the fabric travels around ,the rollers the nitrocellulose coat is' more or less dried by the evaporation of the solvent and, if desired, artificial heat may be used. When required a second coat may be applied preferably in the proportions of one pound of nitrated cotton to ive pounds of blown castor oil. Upon the base so prepared, whether with one, two or more coats of the composition, I lay, by means of suitable apparatus, a fabric such'` as sheeting, cheese cloth, mohair this super-imposed fabric or threads I spread a coat of a nitro-cellulose solution and an oil, preferably one pound of nitrated cotton and one and one-half of blown castor oil, the consistency of this last coat bein such that it will penetrate the super-imposed fabric and amalgamate with the underlying nitro-cellulose coat thus embedding the super-imposed fabric in the nitro-cellulose coat. That is, the two or more nitro-cellulose coats amalgamate to form a filmbelow the surface of which, and embedded therein, is the layer of sheeting, cheese cloth, mohair or similar material. Thus the surface coat of nitro-cellulose will be reinforced by the interlacing threads of the 'super-imposed fabric. A

The fabric so treated may be finished with additional coats of nitro-cellulose solution according to the special purpose for which the material is required, the resulting product., with an embedded fabric within the nitro-cellulose film, being the nearest in its characteristics to genuine leather than to any other product known to me, and of great commercial value for the purposes above mentioned. The chafing and friction of ordinary use will not penetrate a coat so reinforced, farther than to the reinforcing fabing the film, I desire to claim the same` broadly without limitation to the precise composition described.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. An article of manufacture consisting of a textile fabric coated with a solution of nitro-cellulose forming a film thereon, and a l materialembedded in such lm to reinforce the same.

2. An artlcle of manufacture consisting of a textile fabric coated with a solution of nitro-cellulose and an oil forming a lm thereon, and a material embedded in such film to reinforce the same.

3. An article of manufacture consisting of a' textile fabric coated with a solution of nitro-cellulose and a blown vegetable Voil forming a film thereon, and a material embedded in such film to reinforce the same.

4. An article of manufacture consisting of a textile fabric coated vwith a solution of nitro-cellulose and castor oil forming a film thereon, and a material embedded in rsuch -iilm reinforcing the same.

5. An article of manufacture consisting of a' textile fabric coated with a solution of nitro-cellulose and an oil forming a film thereon, a fabric embedded in such ilm, and

Aan additional coat of a solution of nitrocellulose-and an oil.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM O. STODDARD, JR.

Witnesses:

CHARLES S. JONES, PAUL H. FRANKE. 

